Liverpool host Arsenal at Anfield on Saturday, December 29th which begins the second half of the season. Last time these two played each other was on November 3rd a few weeks ago, where they tied 1-1 at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal were in much better form last time out. Before that match they were on a 12 game undefeated streak that ended up expanding to 22 games! The streak was ended 2 weeks ago when they lost 3-2 at the St. Mary’s Stadium to Southampton.
Liverpool are the favorites for this match, currently 1st place in the league six points clear. Jurgen Klopp and his men are the only side in the league that haven’t suffered a loss yet, conceding only an astonishing 7 goals this campaign. The key factor to this is last winter star signing of Virgil Van Dijk. He has been immense this season, being the bricks and foundation for the fortress at Anfield. Since the arrival of Van Dijk, Liverpool’s defense has never looked better. He’s changed the clubs defensive mentality, making each player around him perform at another level. Reaching the Champions League final last year, Van Dijk has been Liverpool’s best player this season and if they win the title, he for sure deserves the EPL Player of the Season award. Van Dijk so far this season has completed 97 clearances and 23 interceptions. Not only is he a defensive powerhouse, he’s also a threat on goal. He’s got one goal and one assist so far this season, and is casually seen on the attacking third during Liverpool attacks. Last time out versus Arsenal he had 3 shots with 2 on target, 2 long balls completed, and a 94% pass succession rate. Van Dijk is complete defender and is the heart of the Liverpool side, an injury to him would be a huge miss and could cost the team their title chances.
Arsenal are the underdogs in this clash but Liverpool cannot underestimate Unai Emery and his red and white army. The gunners have one of the best attacking forces in the league, with Pierre Emerick – Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette leading the line. Lacazette had 6 goals and 5 assists to his name this season, scoring near injury time and drawing the game versus Liverpool. His link-up play and high pressure has been very crucial to Unai Emery’s system, causing him to shine this season with Aubameyang. Aubameyang is the top scorer of the league with 13 goals this season, being the main man at Arsenal. His speed will be a problem to Liverpool’s defense, and his finishing is one of the best this season. Although he’s top score this season, Aubameyang could be playing much better. His shot accuracy has been 59% this season, scoring 13 out of his 22 shots. Versus Brighton there were two shots he had that if he scored, would have won Arsenal the game. He need’s to be more clinical this game because Arsenal can’t afford to drop anymore points, as they slip more away from fourth and Man united creeping up behind. Injuries have been the cause of Arsenal’s slow downfall with the squad not having the depth to deal with this. Mustafi, Monreal, Bellerin, Holding, Mavropanos, Mkhitaryan, and Welbeck are all out injured from the first team currently. With these injuries, Lacazette and Aubameyang are getting tired without getting any rest or rotation, and midfielders like Xhaka and Maitland-Niles having to play in defense. Emery really needs to recruit some people in this winter in order to save their season.
With both teams having strong attacks, I predict the game to end 3-1 with Liverpool winning. Arsenal’s defense won’t be able to handle the front three of Salah, Mane, and Firmino, but I can’t see Arsenal not scoring in this game. If Manchester United beat Bournemouth and Arsenal lose, then United will be behind Arsenal by 3 points and the race for top four will get more interesting.
Alex's Soccer Blog 